Intel Touts Benefits of New Atom Processor, Reiterates Its Love for Windows 8

After a bit of damage control yesterday, Intel poked fun at itself as it revealed a slew of Windows 8 tablets using its new Core and Atom processors at an event today in San Francisco.

The company, which joked about moving the event to Taiwan after CEO Paul Otellini’s statements and took the opportunity to, again, say, “We love Windows 8,” was joined by device manufacturers, such as Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Samsung, to show off their collaborations and talk about the benefits of Intel’s processors.

Intel’s Erik Reid

“The Atom processor is a brand-new product that was built from the ground up to provide exceptional performance without compromising battery life,” said Erik Reid, general manager of application processor platforms at Intel.

Intel said the technology behind its Atom processor allows tablets to deliver more than 10 hours of HD video playback and more than three weeks of battery life. In addition, it allows for thinner and lighter tablets (as thin as 0.33 inches and as light as 1.97 pounds) and doesn’t sacrifice the security features that are important to business users and enterprises.

The Intel Atom-powered devices that were on display at the event included such previously announced products as the HP Envy x2, the Lenovo ThinkPad 2 and the business-focused Dell Latitude 10.

But more than the products, much of Intel’s event was about staking its ground against the ARM-based chipmakers — Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm — that will offer rival Windows tablets running Windows RT.

Intel is touting its key advantages, including pure performance as well as the fact that Windows 8 tablets — unlike Windows RT — can run existing Windows applications. Windows RT will run Windows 8 apps and a custom version of Office but not those written for earlier versions of Windows.

“This is just the beginning of Intel’s effort in the tablet market, and our goal is to deliver products that fit the spectrum of evolving needs of both consumers and business users without compromising on compatibility, experience or battery life,” said Reid. “When people or corporations buy a device with Intel inside, they’re getting the best of Windows 8 features with a computing experience that just works.”

AllThingsD’s Ina Fried contributed to this report.